After less than a year of operations, Furukawa Electric already weighs in to expand in Mexicali

Less than a year after starting operations at its new plant in Mexicali, Japan-based manufacturer Furukawa Electric Corp. is already weighing in an expansion of its production and storage capacity at the facility where it manufactures fiber optic cables and other components for the telecom sector.

The company allocated US$ 4.5 million to the construction of a 6,000 square meter plant and the hiring of 150 people to start operations in December 2017.

“The Mexicali plant is doing well. It was built in Mexico with a focus for the United States market (to where it exports 80% of its output) but we’re also planning to become a source for the Mexican market, which would expand our ability to bring more production to Mexico, with more added value,” said in recent days to El Economista Renato Ohno, manager of Furukawa Electric for Mexico and Central America.

“The Mexican telecommunications market has grown in an interesting way, which is why we are interested in growing both the number of network operators and corporate clients we serve. If the expectation is fulfilled, we would not only be producing cables, but we would have a much wider portfolio than what we already have here with another warehouse next to the current one of the same size. It could double what is in Mexicali today regarding of space,” Ohno said.

The official estimated that the 410,000 kilometers and the nearly 25,000 base stations installed in Mexico in recent years will be insufficient for the capacity demand that will reach the country with the arrival of 4.5 and 5G technologies, as well as the Internet of Things.

Ohno said that projects such as the Trunk Network, whose tender was postponed until 2019, will require more than 50,000 kilometers of fiber and many other additional components to make the connection of 50 million Mexicans who currently have little access to the Internet a reality.

In addition, Furukawa is currently negotiating with a national scale triple play services operator to become its main fiber optic provider and other related components.